Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey is a young girl and member of the Royal house of Tudor. She shares a passionate devotion to the Protestant faith and interest in languages and literature with her cousin King Edward VI. Upon his death, Edward names Jane as his successor rather than his sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. She is one of the principle characters and narrative character in the novel The Last Tudor which details her short reign as Queen of England. The Last Tudor The first section of the novel is written from Jane's perspective from 1550 -1554. Jane is a reverently devout Protestant and eldest daughter to the Grey branch of the Tudor royal family. Jane adores her father but harbors dislike for her mother Frances Grey; the daughter of Princess Mary Tudor. Jane disdains the ideal pleasures and pursuits of the day and occupies her time with prayer and study which makes her at odds with her frivolous younger sister Katherine and diminutive sister Mary. Katherine, bringing with her her pet monkey Mr Nozzle, delights to inform Jane that Ned Seymour is coming to Bradford to put forward a betrothal between him and Jane. Jane is unamused the prospect though her stance softens slightly when she meets the kindly Ned Seymour. Despite arranging the betrothal with the Seymours, Jane's father still holds out hope that young King Edward will take Jane for a bride. Jane's piety means that she is entirely disinterested in marriage which earns her ridicule from her mother. By 1553 Jane's betrothal to Ned Seymour is abandoned. Ned's father, Edward Seymour, was beheaded and the family disgraced and therefore no longer a suitable match for Jane. With Jane looking increasingly more attractive as a potential bride for Edward, she is taught the skills of Princes and makes more effort to be accomplished than the other heiresses Mary and Elizabeth. Jane's disdain for Catholicism cause her estrangement from Mary Historical Figure Jane was the eldest daughter of Frances (née Brandon) and Henry Grey. Frances was the daughter of Charles Brandon and Princess Mary Tudor, and therefore the niece of Henry VIII, meaning she had royal blood Jane received a eclectic education that included languages such as Greek, Latin, Italian and Hebrew. Jane was an eager student and preferred to read rather than other traditional feminine pursuits. She also enjoyed theology and was passionately devoted to the Protestant faith. Well read, intelligent and dutiful though she was, Jane thought herself a disappointment to her parents. Jane's parents brought Jane and her sisters up in an overly strict and harsh manner and Jane would lament her unhappiness brought about by her parents cruelty. When Jane was ten years old she was sent to live with the dowager Queen Catherine Parr and her new husband Thomas Seymour. Catherine was a learned and educated woman whom encouraged Jane and Jane flourished under her care. Sadly a year later, Catherine died due to complications after giving birth and Jane was the chief mourner at Catherine's funeral before she returned to her parent's care. Henry Grey quickly succeeded the Seymour brothers and became the most powerful man at the court of King Edward VI. Jane and Edward were something of kindred spirits and the idea of a marriage between the cousins was toyed with before Jane was married to Guildford Dudley In 1553. Only a month or so later, King Edward's health began to fail and he included Frances Grey's male heirs in the will and named Jane Grey as his heir. Edward died on July 6 1553 and when Jane was told she was Queen she rejected the title. She repeatedly rejected the crown until she no longer could refuse her parent's bullying And only accepted under extreme reluctance. Despite taking the crown, she refused to name Guildford as King and made him a Duke instead. She was taken to the Tower of London, as tradition required, as the proclamation of her accession was announced. When word reached Mary Tudor that Jane and not she was proclaimed Queen, Mary began to muster an army. Many Englishman flocked to Mary as she was the rightful heir and the daughter of Henry VIII and their numbers dwarfed Henry Grey's army. Within nine days, Mary had gained so much support that the privy council turned against Grey and his supporters had abandoned him. Jane and Guildford were imprisoned in the Tower. With Mary crowned and on the throne, Jane settled into her imprisonment and conceded that she stole Mary's crown. Mary agonized what to do with Jane; she was fearful of Jane inciting a rebellion but she balked at the thought of killing her young cousin. However five months later Jane, Guildford and two of Guildford's brothers were sentenced to death for treason. Their fates were sealed when Thomas Wyatt the younger led a rebellion In favor of a Protestant heir and looked to Jane as a figurehead. Mary's upcoming marriage also added pressure as a rival claimant would threaten a Spanish alliance. Mary postponed Jane's execution as she wished to save Jane's soul and bring her into the Catholic Church rather than let her die a heretic. Jane however would not abandon her faith though did befriend the Catholic chaplain sent to her. On 12th of February 1554, Guildford was executed on Tower Hill and his remains were carted away in full view of Jane's window. On seeing the body, she cried out his name before she was lead away to the scaffold on Tower Green. She was accompanied onto the scaffold by the Catholic chaplain whom prayed for her in Latin as she read her psalm in English. Jane's composure held until she was blindfolded and could not find the chopping block. She groped for the block as she panic rose and she had to be helped to find it. When her head was struck from her shoulders, Jane was buried besides Guildford in chapel by the Tower Green. Trivia Jane is the youngest character to be executed by decapatation. Jane is one of several Queens to be executed by decapatation these include Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard and Mary Queen of Scots. Jane is related to each of these women through blood or marriage as well as being distantly related to several other condemned traitors including Henry Stafford, Margaret Pole, The Princes in the Tower, Anthony Woodville.... Category:Characters Category:English characters Category:Executed characters Category:Female Characters Category:Historical figures Category:House of Tudor Category:Queens Category:Royals Category:Tudor Characters